Wire-line clamp.



J.H.KUHNS WIRE LINE CLAMP. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1913.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

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27 i i WITNESS'ES [NI/INTO}? iMKJfl/fuHA/S r I h 4 By MM #6 Q, 6. J W 4:,

A TTORIVEYS V J. H. KUHNS.

WIRE LINE CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.5, 1913.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

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Janna a. homes, or mes, onmnona, IRON wears, or TULSA, on

.essrenon or ONE-HALF TO ontar ovta canon-a, A conronarron.

WIRE-LINE (3135MB muses.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed August 5, 1913. Serial No. ?'83,036.

Patented dept. 22, 19.14.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. KoHNs, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident 0 Tulsa, county of Tulsa, and State of Okla once, have made certam new and usefol Improvements in Wire-Line Clamps, of

which the following is a specification.

My invent on is an lmprovement wire l ne cl-angps, and has for its object to rovide a Sim le, eflicient clam of the c an ecter s eci ed, wherein mec anisrn is rovlded or enga ing the line at any desired es'ired amount of traction may be made .11 on t e clamp to draw the wire, without \pping of the clam I an the draw ngs: igure 1 1s a front view vsaint, and so rmly and rigidl that the of the improved clamp 1n osition, Fig. 2 is view of the other member, Fig. 7

an end new from the rig it of Fig. 1, Fig. 3. 3

us a section. on the line 33 of 1, 4 a reduced view from the inner side got one of the clamping members, Fig. 5

1s a side View of the same, Fig. 6 is a side is a front .v ew of the said other member, Fig. 8 is a front View of the cross plate in connection with the said last-named lever, Fig. 9 isa front view of one of the clamping jaws, and, Fig. 10 is a side view of the same.

The present embodiment of the invention comprises a air of gripping jaws, each jaw ace with consisting o a body 1, prowdedon its inner a longitudin ly extending groove '2, for receiving the line, and having at. its

upper end a' 'hook 3 extending toward the opposite side of the body from the face provided with the groove. Each of the jaws 1s rovided intermediate the ends of the I the groove. The lower en 6 clamping jaws is provided on the. o posits 4 f bony with a threaded recess or opening 4:, the said opening" extending through ap proximately onealt the thickness of the body, and being on the op osite face from 5 of each of the ace from the groove, with a pair 0 parallel laterally spaced longitudinally,extending ribs 5, for a purpose to ,be presently 1 1 scribed. The c amping jaws 1 are 'arranged on opposite sides of the wire line 6, the

said wire being received in the grooves 2 of the clamplng aws, and the jaws are held 1n place on the line by means, of levers to be described. One of the lovers? vlded near lts upper end and on its inner face with a transversefgroove 8 i'or receivis. proing the adjacent jaw, and the said lever has spaced ribs 12, the said ribs being on opposite sidesof the opening 9, and each rib ere tends from the upper end of the lever beyond the center thereof. The head of the set screw 11 is'received between the ribs 12, and the said ribs are of suflici'ent height to extend outwardly beyond the outer face of the head of the screw. The lever is also provided at its upper end with an inwardly offset lug I3 for a )urpose to be presently described, and the 0 setting of the lug forms a notch or recess 14 on theouter face of the said lever at the upper end thereof, and

h a transverse groove 15 at its lower end, and on the outer face thereof, and at the said lower end the lever is reduced at each side as shown in Fig. 4, to form a shoulder 16 between that portion provided with the groove 15 and the re :ooainin portion of the lover. The other l'ever fies provided intermediate its ends with a transverse groove 18 for receiving the adjacent ja-W' 1, and at the groove the lever is provided with an opening 19 extending from the outer face thereof and intersecting the groove 18.

set screw 20 is passed through the open-- 19, into engagement with the opening 4: of the adjacent jaw, 'and the outer face of the said lever is rovided. with longitudinally extending ri s 21, the said ribs being on: opposite sides of the oponin 19. The ribs 21 are of a height to extend )eyond the outer faceof the head of the set screw 20, as shown in Fig. 3, and the said ribs extend from near one end of the lever to near the other. At its up er end, the lever 17 is provided with a hoe 222, the said hook extend.

mg beyond the Inner face of the lever, and beyon the outer face of the othe lever 7, and the hook engages the notch or recess 1 of the lever 7.

groove.

the outer face of the plate is flush with the outer face of the lever. The bottom of the groove is, however, inclined so that at the upper side edge of the plate, the under face of the plate is flush with the outer face of the lever.

A set screw 27 is passed through an opening 28 in the plate, and engages the open-' ing of the lever, to hold the plate 26 in lace in the groove. 1). link, loop or bail 29 of rectangular form engages the ends of the levers 7 and 17 remote from the clamping jaws-1, one end of the link engaging in the groove of the lever 7, while the side members of the link extend on opposite sides of the reduced ends of the levers. .hat end of the link remote from the lever 7 is pro vided with nut 30, the axis of the nut being at the longitudinal center .of the link, and a threaded rod 31 is engaged with the nut.

I I The rod is provided with a cross handle 32, and the inner end thereof engages the outer face ofthe lever 17, below the shoulders 23. It will be noted from an inspection so that the ends of the plate prevent downward movement of the link. The hooks 3 of the clamping jaws 1 are engaged by the draft apparatus 33 for pulling the rope the said draft apparatus having links, as shown for engaging the hooks.

In operation, the device 15 arranged as shown in. Figs. 1 and 2, th aniping 1 being held in the grooves 8 and 18 of the levers 7 and 17, by means of the set screws 11 and 20. With the clamping jaws in this position, the lovers 7 and 17 are arranged on opposite sides of the wire (3, with the said wire in the grooves 2 of the clamping jaws, and with the lug 13 of the lQ'i'QIl'Z on the inner side of the hook 22 of the lever 17-. The bill of the hook 22 engages the recess i l of the lever, and the ribs l2gand 21 of the two lovers con eal and protect the heads of the set screws 1.1 and 20. With the levers so argod. the link is e r.7, and the )S of the hanrml v the wire between them. The plate 26 prevents disengagement of the link from the lever 17, and also prevents slipping ofthe engaging end of the threaded rod 31.

The device is simple in construction, yet

durable and efficient, and engages the wire with a rigid unslipable grip. As soon as the rope has been pulled as far as possible, with a single grip, the rod 31 is turned in the reverse direction, to relax the grip of the jaws 1, and a new grip is taken on the wire. The levers are of considerable width at the grooves 8 and 18, engaging the full length of the body of the gripping jaws. Each lever extends from the hook 3 to the commencement of the ribs 5, and the upper ends of the said ribs prevent lateral movement of the levers toward the ribs, while shoulders 34 are formed at the commencementof the hooks 3, to prevent movement of the levers toward the hooks. It will be noticed from an inspection 0 Fig. 6, that the lever 17 is provided on i s inner face above the groove 18, with an inwardly extending lug 35, and the said lug engages the adjacent side of the adjacent jaw 1, and also engages a notch 36 on the inner face of the lug 13. The gripping jaws may be released from the levers, merely by turning the set screws in the proper direction, and the jaws are thus interchangeable. The ribs 12 and 21 reinforce the levers, and the bail or link 29 may be removed from the levers, by removing the plate 26. It will be noticed that the levers are entirely independ out, having neither screws, belts or ties to hold them together, being engaged through the hook and the lug at the one end, and by means of a bail or loop 29 at the other. The lug 1O prevents lateral movement of the levers with respect to each other, and since the bill of the hook 22 fits between the ribs 12, the said hooks and ribs also prevent lateral movement. The jaws 1 are as before stated, interchangeable, and since the said jaws receive the entire strain when the device is in operation, should the said jaws become bent or broken, or injured in any other way, a new jaw may be inserted, or the old jaw may be taken out and straightened or repaired.

I claim:

1. A' device of the character specified, comprising a pair of levers, one of the lovers having a notch or recess at one end and on its outer face, the other lever having a hook for engaging the recess, the first-named lever having a transverse rib at the end of the recess to prevent accidental disengagement of the hook, said levers being grooved transversely on their inner faces adjacent to the connection, and the grooves registering, each lever having a transverse opening extending into therecess, a gripping j aw in each recess, each jaw has a an open. hookat its upper and, and a threaded opening registering with the opening of the adjacent lever, a set screw passing through each opening of the lever and engaging the threaded opening of the adjacent aw, and a bail engaging the opposite ends of the levers, and having a nut adjacent to the lever provided with the hook, a screw threaded through the nut and bearing against'the end of the lever, and a detachable stop plate on the lever for preventing disengagement of the screw, the outer face v of the other lever being transversely grooved at the said' end.

2. A device of the character specified,

comprising a pair of levers,,0ne of the levers having a notch or recess at one end and on its outer face, the other lever having a hook for engaging the recess, the first-named lever having a transverse rib at the end of the recess'to prevent accidental disengagement of versely on their inner faces adjacentto the 1 connection, and the grooves registering, each lever having a transverse opening extending into the recess,a grlpping jaw in each recess, each jaw having an open book at its upper end, and a threaded opening registering with the opening of the adjacent lever, a set screw passing throu h each opening of the lever and engaging t e threaded opening of the adjacent jaw, and a bail engaging the opposite ends of the levers, for clamping them together, said bail having a nut at one lever, and a screw threaded through the nut and engaging the lever.

' JAMES H. KUHNS. Witnesses:

GEORGE Rri'rnn, JOSEPH S. Horrms. 

